Atypical occurrence of anti-Ma2-associated encephalitis after breast cancer surgery and COVID-19

Abstract

In this report, we present a rare case of anti-Ma2-associated encephalitis concurrent with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) following breast cancer surgery. The patient exhibited minimal clinical symptoms of COVID-19 infection but developed seizures and altered mental status after surgery, leading to diagnosis of a classic paraneoplastic syndrome. This case highlights the possibility of paraneoplastic neurological syndrome even after cancer surgery and the need for careful consideration of post-acute infection syndromes when neurological symptoms occur following an infection.

Keywords

• limbic encephalitis
• ma2 antigen
• breast neoplasms
• covid-19